


Surviving (Together)

by GlobberMuffin



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2018-10-18 07:37:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10612257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlobberMuffin/pseuds/GlobberMuffin
Summary: Wilson and Wes seem new at this nightmare some call surviving. Will they survive, find a way out or just die soon?No one is really sure.





	1. Encounter below the full moon.

It's been so long, yet not really. It was hard to tell, time feels slow and every second lasts forever. He feels like it's been months but he hasn't even experienced his first full moon.

Laying on the wet grass, trying to get the soggy logs to burn and give light and at least some warmth as night approaches ever so slowly, desesperation fills this man, who wonders why even try to keep surviving when there's not really a way out. He gives up on the soggy logs and kicks them aside, the rain has rendered most resources useless, anyway.

As the man sits up, seeing the sun and the light it provides go away, he accepts his fate and prepares to be killed by the nightmareish monster that seems to hide in the pitch black night. But to his surprise, it's not dark.  
"A full moon...?" He mutters to himself looking at the dark sky being illuminated by a precious full moon. It felt like a signal, a signal that he had to stay alive, and he wasn't going to let it go to waste.  
He stood up and swung his axe, he chopped trees, as many as he could until the axe broke, the rain stopped falling and he could finally dry a little. Walking almost aimlessly in the night was making him tired, really tired. He was looking forward to get some rest, once he found a nice tree in a safe area he walked towards it and when he was almost there, the tree fell down.

The man was static, as far as he knew there weren't many monsters that would chop trees down, despite his fear, he slowly walked close to the supposed safe area and spotted... A human? What?

This other human looked particulary weak and thin, their face was pale with dark red cheeks and a choppy, badly treated hair.  
As our first man stepped closer, he snapped a twig and this mysterious human turned around, looking mortified and shaking uncontrolably, their partially black lips were closed shut, it looked as if they weren't even breathing, or moving.

It was easy to tell this mysterious fellow wanted to run away, but was too scared to do so, they even dropped their axe as to signal they don't mean to be dangerous.

The man got close and extended his hand "I... My name is Wilson," he said while he examined the unknown human he just tried to socialize with "I thought I was alone in this place, but it seems I was wrong". The still unknown fellow hesitated but shook his hand with Wilson, and gave an awkard smile. Wilson frowned. "Ahem, and your name is...?" Wilson said as he stopped shaking hands with the other prisoner of this hell hole.  
The human said nothing. Wilson looked more carefully into their appearence, he had bad vibes about this stranger, until he snapped. The paleness of his face and such dark red cheeks, and the black lipstick partially covering this stranger's mouth, "A mime! So you don't talk?" He questioned and it made the mime smile and clap, followed by nodding to his right assumption. The mime started gesturing with his hands, he made a W, E and S. "What's that supposed to mean?" The mime sighed and did the letter agains, then pointed to himself. Wilson snapped, again, "Oh, your name is... Wes?" he said doubtfully, the mime clapped, enthusiastic.

After introducing themselves, Wilson told Wes he has been looking for a nice place to set down for a while, Wes snapped his fingers and took Wilson's hand then started to walk towards an unknown direction for Wilson. 

 

The sun came up and they were still walking, Wilson was barely standing by himself as Wes dragged him across the fields, the mime was so excited his brain didn't even think of sleep at all. Wilson was about to just drop dead to catch some rest but his plans were interrumpted when the mime stopped abruptly and started to shake Wilson excited to alert him.  
Wilson opened his eyes, amazed at the nice space they had found, it was an empty space of green grass, with some rocks and tallbirds in the far west, a field full of bees and flowers in the north, a group of beefalos in the south and a big, lasting forest where they came from. It seemed simply ideal.

Wes smiled and let go of Wilson's hand, then proceeded to walk to the middle of the place, sat down and started to look around his backpack. Wilson walked towards him and started to build a Science machine with the resources he had been saving so far.

 

As Wilson had been building all day, and the night was a few hours away, Wes tapped his shoulder and then gave a few pats to the grass, suggesting he should sit down and relax. The scientist accepted and took a seat besides his silent friend, rubbing his head. Wes noticed his companion didn't look well and took his hand, then started to rub it, which only confused Wilson, the mime put some berries in his hand, giving him a reassuring, warm smile.  
Wes then gestured by pointing at himself and then to the flower field, he stood up and started rushing towards it. Wilson just watched confused while he munched on the berries, stopping from time to time to rub his head. 

Wilson didn't want to complain to someone he hasn't know that long, it would look pathetic, or so he thought. Truth was, Wilson had been seeing and hearing weird things for a good while already, and it was driving him insane, quite literally. He sighed and returned to eating his berries as he heard Wes' steps, that was pretty fast, he thought to himself.  
Wes sat down besides Wilson as soon as he got back, a big cheerful smile on his face and his hands behind his back. Wilson tried to ignore it altough something in his head whispered this behavior shouldn't be trusted, and that the mime was going to kill him anytime now, not like he cared to fight back anymore.  
Altough Wilson was surprised, it wasn't in the way he expected, he was already prepared to see a mime murder him mercilessly with an used pickaxe, but instead he was static, somewhat relaxed as he saw his mute companion place a flower crown on his head. It didn't feel like it was a big deal, but for some reason Wilson felt a bit better, he still had a headache, but it wasn't as intense.

Wilson made a fire pit in front of them and once night covered the sky in pitch black, Wes patted his scientist friend's head and made a sleeping gesture, clasping his hands together and tilting his head over them, at first Wilson refused to sleep, he knew Wes was weak and if something came after them things would end up in disaster, Wes looked at him with a frown and then did the sleep gesture again, this time pointing at his head afterwards. Wilson couldn't understand what Wes meant exactly but he assumed it had to do with resting to get rid of the damn headache.

Wilson decided to lay down and rest his head on Wes' lap, since they had barely set up anything in the camp, Wes pet Wilson's hair to try and calm him down a little, keeping the fire going so they would be safe during the night.

But they weren't.


	2. Thoughts.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is hard to trust anything when everything else wants to kill you.

As the night passed, Wes kept watching over the fire while Wilson slept with his head in his silent friend's lap. Wes always felt paranoid at night ever since he got there a month ago, he already feared Maxwell, there was no need on getting to know even more evil creatures that would only lurk on the shadow to drive him insane.  
He added wood to the fire whenever it got too low, they couldn't risk being in complete darkness even if it was for a few seconds, who knows how quick would that hellish monster be. As Wes added a few twigs in the fire, he felt a chill down his spine. Scared, Wes carefully moved Wilson's head off his lap and onto his backpack, which he filled with grass and flowers.

He refined some rope on the science machine and made a spear, he looked around in the dark, trying to stop shaking with fear, he really wasn't used to these things happening at night. The mime squinted and saw a hand-like shadow creeping near Wilson, sliding out of the shadows and crawling to the core of their fire. Wes was mostly worried it wanted to attack Wilson more than anything, honestly. But he realized the objective of this mysterious shadow was to leave them defenseless in the dark.  
Wes sprinted at the shadow just before it could get to the fire, trying to attack it with the spear, of course, this failed. Shadows can't hit or be hit, right? But, the hand started to crawl back into the darkness, so Wes just had to keep chasing it back and forth. For the rest of the night. 

 

The sun was slowly coming out, bringing light to the rest of the land they had found, Wes was tired and as soon as the darkness was gone he dropped to the floor and tried to rest, yet this was impossible, almost immediately after the light hit the floor Wilson was getting up and stretching, ready to keep on building their little temporary camp. Wes stood up and pointed at Wilson and putting his hands on his sides. "Me? What?... Oh, I'm better now!". Wes cheerfuly clapped and then took a pickaxe, then walked away of the camp to mine.

Wilson looked at the silent man, sometimes the way he acted confused him, so cheerful and enthusiatic, like they weren't in lethal danger basically at all times, adding to the fact he didn't sleep at all, but he shrugged it off and decided to chop some trees, there was enough food so they wouldn't have to focus on collecting it as much. Something resonated on Wilson's mind while he worked on getting resources, _"He didn't rest at all, do you think he'll be alright?"_ , he then proceeded to answer to himself, outloud "Of course, I've had my sleepless nights and I did fine, he'll be okay" he laughed. _"What if he took everything while you slept and ran off?"_ , Wilson stopped for a moment, eyes wide open. 

As soon as he chopped the last tree he rushed back to the camp. No one was there, which only made Wilson panic even more, his heart was pounding, audible to his brain. He sat down and rubbed his head, one of the flowers fell down from his garland, it was withering, for some reason this made him feel even worse. He felt like a complete idiot, he just went right ahead and trusted a mime who probably wasn't really mute and just wanted to toy with him and hide his true intentions under all that thick face paint and optimistic actions. He started to pull his hair, _"Idiot, idiot, idiot"_ echoed in his head, nearly making his heart pumping go silent.

Then someone tapped his shoulder.

Wilson looked up, it was Wes, looking awfully worried at him. They only kept looking at one another until Wes sat besides Wilson and took the withering garland off, letting out a silent sigh. Wilson looked at him horrified, as if taking the garland off was the equivalent of cold blooded murder, Wilson snapped and asked "S...So, how much did you collect?," he audibly swallowed, "I chopped a nice bunch of trees. Uh, I probably could have chopped more but I didn't think I would make it back before night time". Wilson was well aware he was lying, but if he wanted the mime to trust him, he needed to act as if he trusted his silent companion too.  
Wes reached for his backpack and showed off all the flints, rocks and gold he found with a big smile, then he let out a wink and took a Tallbird egg out, "Wow, how'd you get that without getting hurt?" Wilson gasped, he knew getting a Tallbird egg wasn't that hard, but seeing Wes' weak frame, it must have been some sort of achievement.  
Wes looked down, a bit embarrassed, he stretched one of his arms and with the other one he made a hitting gesture towards it, telling Wilson he did get hit, but tried to gesture it wasn't a big deal.

The scientist's eyes were wide open, he held Wes' arm and noticed a thin cut in the black, long sleeve shirt the mime wore below the red and black one. He opened the cut in the fabric a bit more and could see the mute companion was bleeding. Wes moved his arm away and patted Wilson's back, trying to calm him down and gave him the egg, "But, what will you do about it? You can't go with a wound around here, even if it's a small one". Wes put his hand in the ground and gestured a spider, making the hand "crawl" with his fingers, then he looked up to Wilson, making sure he understood. "Spider gland?" Wes nodded. "We don't really have that yet, but we'll get it soon, we need some silk anyway", Wilson continued, nervously.

As night time came up and darkness covered almost every spot in the land, except for the patch of grass they were camping in, Wes tapped Wilson's arm and made his sleeping gesture, this time pointing at himself, Wilson nodded, knowing Wes needed to rest after not sleeping for probably days, and it was only fair, since Wilson got to sleep the night before. The mime got as comfortable as anyone could get in the cold, dirty grass and rapidly fell asleep, _"He sure was tired..."_ Wilson thought to himself, putting some wood in the fire to keep it going. He looked at Wes again, he fell asleep so quick, it almost made him wonder how long he's been without rest, but some dark and rather morbid thoughts wandered in Wilson's mind. _"What are you doing? It's time to take advantage! There are so many things you could do"_. Wilson freaked out at this weird, raspy voice in his head, what did it want?  
_"Take his stuff and run away, you want to get out of here more than him, don't you?"_ , "I can't be sure of that" he whispered, trying to distinguish these weird thoughts from his own honest opinion, without interrupting his silent companion's sleep. _"What about infecting his wound, or even faster, take the spear near him and kill him, here and now! He can not be trusted, survival of the fittest, isn't that right?"_ , "Look, I don't want to kill the only other human I've found in this hell hole, nor hurt him. Maybe he can't talk, but he can listen, and he can help, for me..." Wilson lowered his voice even more, the whisper became a near silent mutter of words, "For me, he's very important. Even if I don't know him for that long, I feel he is important".  
A few seconds passed and the voice went silent, he finally made it shut up. If he wanted to survive, or even better, **to live** , he was going to need help, and he felt like he too, was important to Wes, even if he wasn't able to express it, not clearly anyway.

 

After what seemed an eternity, sun was coming up and Wilson was debating between starting early and waking his friend or allow him a bit more of sleep time, he choose for the latter, since an idea came to him. He kept the fire going, so Wes would be a bit more comfortable while laying on the dirty, cold and rather hard grass, maybe it would make it a bit more bearable, and then he ran somewhere.  
Not so long after, Wes was waking up on his own, as he heard the fire go out, he stood up and couldn't find Wilson anywhere, so many things started to storm his not completely awake mind, did he run away? Did something attack him? Is he alone on his own, once again? He was panicking, opening his mouth as if he wanted to scream but couldn't, he ran in circles wondering if he should go look after him or wait.

But he saw Wilson coming back, he looked a bit tired but he wasn't hurt at all, Wes ran towards him, waving his arms in the air desperately. Wilson walked towards him and hugged him, only to quickly let go and show him some spider glands, "Don't worry, I didn't get hit. Now let's cure that wound" Wilson smiled and the mime's eyes lit up with happiness as he healed the wound.

 

This time they decided to stay in the camp, improving their base with all the stacks of resources they had, soon enough, they had a little farm, an Alchemy machine and a few chests laying around to carry all the spare items, they also made a tent, it didn't feel necessary to make two since one of them was always looking out for monsters at night. It felt like they stopped surviving and actually began living, sort of, anyway. While they kept organizing and planting seeds, rain started to fall. It's just harmless rain, they thought. It'll be over soon. But it wasn't.

Hours later it was still going, Wes' makeup was starting to fall off, but it was so thick you still couldn't see his skin behind it. Wilson kept staring at him, with curiosity. Something inside him really wanted to see the true face behind that mime, below that white layer of face paint, he wanted to know if Wes still had rosy cheeks behind the dark red paint in them, maybe even discover if he too, had dark circles under his eyes or who knows, maybe find bruises and scars he was able to mask. Wes noticed Wilson wouldn't stop looking at him and waved his hands in front of the scientist, making him snap out of his train of thought, Wilson shook his head and looked away, he could feel his face warm up a little, it didn't last long though, with the on going, cold rain. They had all their items in backpacks and chests and put them in the tent so they wouldn't get soggy, but they didn't expect the rain to last this long, it still was just rain, not big deal right? Wrong.

Suddenly, thunder could be heard in the distance, it was approaching. Wes was panicking, the fire could destroy their camp, they needed to do something about it. But they didn't know what.


	3. Thunderstorm in paradise.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems like it's time to move. Again.

In the middle of Wes' panicking, Wilson slapped him out of it, the mime was about to try and silently protest about the sudden hit, but again, he was stopped "We can build a lighting rod to trap all the thunder, right?". Wes calmed down and nodded then looked around in both his backpack and Wilson's, he ran to the chests to find some rocks or cut stones, but he didn't find any. Wes kept silently screaming and running in circles, Wilson tried to stop him but it was too late, as it seemed Wes had tripped over his own feet while he ran.  
"Wes, calm down. The chances of lighting falling literally on our base are so unlikely we might as well forget about it." Wilson said, wrapping his arm around Wes and leading him to the tent, "You just need some r-".

Lighting fell on the tent, burning it down to almost nothing, all the items they put in it to keep them dry and safe were now gone. Wes looked terrified at the ashes and Wilson quickly bent down to pick them up and store them in a little bag. The only option left was surviving the thunderstorm, even if it wasn't the most appealing idea, it was what needed to be done. They sat next to the fire while the sky grew darker and light slowly dissappeared from the surface.

Wes was hugging his knees, looking down, even though they only met each other a few days ago, the fact Wes wasn't acting like his optimistic, cheerful self was soul crushing for Wilson, he patted the mime's back, "Look at me," Wes then turned to see the scientist, afraid to make eye contact, "Hear me out, pal. This is just one inconvenience, we'll get through it and come back up better than ever, alright?" Wilson tried his best to take the optimistic approach this time.  
The comforting smile in wilson's face was more than enough to convince Wes everything would turn out alright, they just had to start working for it.

As night had passed and they woke up by the sound of the soggy logs' fire going out, Wes and Wilson stretched before getting up and parting ways, each one to attend a different task, Wilson was chopping wood, picking grass and twigs while Wes mined some rocks. Surprisingly for the mime, the weather was really hot, even though Winter was only a few days away.  
Wes brushed the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, he knew Wilson was working as hard as him, or even more, it was for survival's sake. After hours of mining the silent man noticed night was a few minutes away from happening, he sprinted to the base and was prepared to make a torch just in case, but while he was about to light it, he ran into a hard, cold pillar that lit up after impact. Wes quickly jumped back picking the torch up to light it, before noticing the stone pillar was already giving him more than enough light to survive the night.

Footsteps can be heard, louder than the sudden strong wind and the insects that roam at night. Out of the shadows a thin, kind of tall figure approaches. It was Maxwell. Wes stepped back, holding the unused torch really tight between his hands as if it could cause any real harm, Maxwell didn't get close to Wes, since he didn't intend any harm, "I see you've found the other pal... Wilson," he took a deep breath, "I am not going to over explain, my intentions are not to harm whatever friendly relationship you're trying to build with him, but mark my words, pal. You two are not here to live a picture perfect life.", Maxwell had a smug look on his face, taking two steps closer to Wes, the taller man wasn't sure why this was, but seeing the inferior mime flinch and panic to light a torch to use as a weapon like it would work was somewhat... Satisfying. He was well aware how much more powerful and ovbiously superior he was, but toying with those he considered of less value was always a nice way to pass the time.

Maxwell slowly walked away into the shadows, saying "Don't get comfortable here" before completely disappearing. The pillar was still there, the light was enough to let Wes be safe for the rest of the night but he was too scared to close an eye. Wes sat down, laying his back on the pillar trying to process what just happened, _not here to live a picture perfect life_? what does that even mean? In this place a picture perfect life is impossible, it is true he was starting to feel comfortable, though. How couldn't he, really? In the middle of panic a full moon and another survivor just came in sending a wave of relief to his exhausted mind and body, he just wanted to take a rest and even try to enjoy getting resources for once, knowing he was part of a two people "family", was it even right to call it that? They're not really related, maybe "buddies" was a more appropriate word for what they have going on.

Wes kept thinking and wandering in his own thoughts until the sun came up, the pillar disappeared in a burst of smoke and he fell on his back aggressively, it hurt a lot, but he needed to use all the daylight he had to return. He kept running even though his legs were aching, he saw Wilson on the distance and started to wave his arms to get noticed by the scientist as he ran towards him, Wilson turned around and yelled Wes' name out loud before running towards him.  
Once they were together again the first thing Wilson did was grab Wes' arms and roll up the sleeves "Did you get hurt? Any scratches? Ah, you're alright," he let out a sigh of relief with a hand against his chest "I'm sorry, I got so worried when you didn't appear at night, you're probably really hungry!", Wes hadn't even thought about food but as soon as Wilson mentioned it he felt his stomach rumble and nodded, to which Wilson cooked him some meat and let the mime eat while he checked the rocks, flints, nitre and gold in Wes' backpack.

Wes wanted to let Wilson know what happened, but didn't think it would be beneficial, it would only worry his buddy so he kept it to himself and finished the meat. As soon as Wes was done eating they got back to working together into putting up the base, this time they made a lighting rod to prevent the same thing to happen again, once all the basic structures were done they sat down and decided to take a break. Wes had a weird feeling, it's been a few days now, and Wilson just seemed like an amazing companion, and a funny one too, if they ever got out of this world he would love to keep contact with his scientist buddy, the mime wanted to express these things to Wilson but he really couldn't, there was nothing to make paper with and using gestures wouldn't send the message the way he wants. It's not the first time Wes wished he had a voice to express himself, but this one time he wished it like he never wished anything before, he never thought he would want to express something like this to someone.

Wilson didn't feel any different, but while he was able to talk, he decided to stay silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((I'm really sorry for taking a million years on updating this thing, I just lack the motivation and when I'm not writing I'm either doing school stuff or playing Don't Starve, whoops;;


	4. Unbelievable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wes has done many unexpected things, but which one is the most mind blowing of them all?

Breaking the moment of peace and rest between the two, Wilson mentioned he was going to look for Beefalo to collect some manure and start a proper farm, Wes nodded and saw his survival companion walk away. Now, Wes would normally stay in the base just in case, but he felt like he needed to walk for a bit and clear his mind about the whole Maxwell event that took place just the night before, so he did just that, making sure he wasn't carrying anything too important. He left the base and went on the opposite direction Wilson had gone.

Wilson didn't like dirty work, at all. He might have done it before, but it would be because he had to, not because he ever wanted to. Yet there he was, collecting manure with his own bare hands, had he not done this before, he would have thrown up, again. In an experienced survivor's eyes, that might be seen as weak or as an overreaction, but Wilson is not an experienced survivor, and there aren't any close to judge his attempts at keeping the food in his stomach as he picks up Beefalo residue with strong will power.  
After a while, Wilson felt he had done enough collecting, he was tired of the awful sensation and even more vile smell he had to go through for the sake of not walking so much to eat for a day.  
While the scientist walked back to the base, he saw Wes just arriving as well, that was odd, the mime usually stayed in the base if he was going to leave for a while, then he noticed... Was Wes carrying something? He seemed to have both hands busy with something, as soon as Wilson managed to see, his eyes widened "Wes, what are you doing with those?! And Why?! We aren't short on food" yelled the scientist, panicking.

Wes did his best to not drop anything as he put his finger on Wilson's mouth, trying to shut him up. On his arms, two, kinda hairy, pitch black smallbirds. Wilson wanted to protest but it seemed Wes wasn't going to have any of it, at least not while the smallbirds were asleep, or so he assumed. The mime gently put both creatures on the floor, letting them rest. Wilson was giving him a confused stare, as if he was getting a quiz ready to verbally throw onto Wes' painted face, he wanted answers, and he was going to get them no matter how long he was going to be figuring out what Wes' gestures meant.  
The mime sat down in front of the put out fire pit, staring at Wilson ready to feel the wave of words and complaints that he was sure to get, though the scientist took more than he wanted to answer, knowing he was being stared at by someone so patient and ready to hear him made him feel... different, like he was in control of something or someone, whatever happened between Wes and him was his choice there and then.

And so he prepared himself.

Standing straight and walking right in front of Wes, looking down at him. He clears his throat and puts both arms behind him "Wes," the mime's eyes opened, he knew the funny and leader-like side of his companion, but this seemed like another version of him, still felt like a leader, but one that probably established more dominance over everyone else, he didn't know how to feel, scared? Confused? He didn't want to admit but he was also in awe, who would've thought someone as short and skinny as Wilson would feel like he was so in control of everyone around him? No him that's for sure. But he, as if there was any other option, decided to stay silent and keep staring at Wilson, waiting for him to continue. "can you explain me why did you bring these... creatures, to the base?" Wes of course, remained silent, staring up directly at Wilson and thinking how could he explain what had happened without talking. He pointed to the smallbirds, still sleeping in the floor and then cupped his hands together, followed by shaking them and separating his hands like he was trying to gesture an explosion, Wilson tried to keep up, "smallbirds... egg...? Shaking... hatched... is that what you mean?" the mime nodded, giving him a smile.

The dumbfounded scientist let out an irritated sigh, making Wes' smile fade into a worried frown "Okay, look. If you really want to raise these I won't stop you, but don't make me too responsible for your... children" said Wilson with an annoyed tone, which only made the silent man feel worse about wanting to raise two harmless smallbirds. It did get him thinking though, not like he didn't do that a lot already, why exactly did he go out of his way to not abandon those two smallbirds? Wes had learned the bad way that he couldn't have mercy against the beasts of this reign, as they would always turn back to hit him, he even knew smallbirds would grow agressive over time, but something made him want to raise them, like pets or like children, he honestly didn't care to find a difference at the time. Still thinking, he began contemplating what could have made him want to take care of two smallbirds again: They give him company, but so did Wilson, they give him a sense of purpose, which he already felt he had as soon as he had to survive in the wild, they're adorable, can't argue with that and... they felt like family.

The thought that went through Wes' mind made him lay down flat on the floor, as if he was just so blown away by his own thoughts that he didn't have any strenght left to stay in his previous sitting position, Wilson looked at him, confused and even a bit afraid, he started wondering if maybe he had been too cold when talking to Wes about the smallbirds, as far as the scientist was sure of, Wes seemed like a more sensitive person, or in touch with his emotions, probably more empathetic too. Wilson crawled closer to Wes and looked down to him with worry all over his face, Wes wasn't responding, so he got closer to the silent mime's face, trying to make sure he was okay, with no positive results, Wilson then decided to actually speak "Wes... are you alright? Wes?".

Wes blinked, saying in a faint, broken and torn voice "A family", before realizing he had Wilson right in front of him, inches apart, wanting to put distance between them he tried to get up as fast as it was possible which only resulted in their heads hitting each other. Wilson pulled away and put his hand on his forehead, so did Wes, they then turned to look at each other with widened eyes and their hearts rushing.

"Wes, you... you talk!?" snapped Wilson, conflicted about what he just heard a supposedly mute mime say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SUPER SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG, AAAH!! I DID IT!! I need reminders haha


	5. Faint 'keek'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Though conflict usually happens between two people, maybe a third hand will prove useful?

They found themselves staring deeply into the other's eyes, both silent for very different reasons, one of them not knowing what to say and the other awaiting for an answer.  
The sun was setting and Wes was putting his hands in the grass to support himself and get up, but in the middle of it Wilson put his foot over the mime's back and pushed him down on the cold dirt, "Well?" Wilson said, noticeably annoyed "Explain yourself, you fake mute", his patience was running out, feeling betrayed by his survival companion while keeping him down, Wes' clothes and face getting filthy with grass and dirt.

Wes kept trying to get up, even though his arms were shaking while failing to support the weight being mercilessly put over him, it was obvious to the man what was going through Wilson's mind, he was scared, he was angry, he felt lied to and used, the mime found it easy to notice just as much as he found it heartbreaking how it was him who caused his friend to have such strong negative feelings towards him, starting to hold back his tears to avoid pity from being his saviour once again, Wes opened his mouth, trying to speak but no sound came out, which only drove Wilson deeper into anger, this time putting his foot on Wes' head and giving it a shove in the dirt before stepping back and lighting the fire pit for the night, sitting down in the grass, eyes closed and taking deep breaths, he was just so pissed off.

The mime finally lifted himself from the ground with shaking arms, he wasn't really hurt, but he was indeed scared. He sat down in the other side of the fire pit Wilson had, not close but still facing him, the mime's gaze pointing down and filled with embarrasment as he was unable to answer previously. Since it seemed like a perfect idea for Wes at the time, he decided to stare at Wilson, who was still taking deep breaths with his eyes closed, probably meditating or something along that line.  
Staring at the scientist was not something Wes had dedicated time to, which resulted weird to him because he was starting to pick up on a lot of details he would have never noticed before, like the way Wilson's breathing got erratic after taking one big breath that puffed his chest a little, or the way his eyebrow twitched as he forced himself to not open his eyes and lose concentration, or the movement of his thumb brushing his cheek while the rest of the man's hand covered from mouth to chin while his free hand went from his knee to brush his hair 1... 2... 3... 4 times before returning to it's initial position and repeating the process, and though he had already noticed it before, now that he payed more attention to it Wilson's sitting position makes him arch his back more than the mime thought, this made him think if he could break Wilson out of that bad habit, probably not, but it would be worth a shot.

The supposedly silent man started to crawl closer to Wilson, this time with a better idea to solve their issue, once he got close enough he reached for his shoulder, intending to gently tap his shoulder before something started making noises near them, causing Wilson to immediatly open his eyes and nearly hit Wes' face out of pure reflex. Now the two were looking into the bushes and into the trees, hearing odd noises that could not be labeled "sounds of nature", something was coming at them and they were very sure of it as a shadow slowly approached, leaving the bushes and coming closer and closer to them, a faint 'keek'-like noise every time it seemed to get closer and closer, then right in front of them, a shine made them squint their eyes before being blown away by the presence of...

A robot. Not just any robot. A glowing, very mediocre looking one, actually.

"GREAT. JUST AS USEFUL AS THAT PILE OF BONES BACK THERE." the robot let out in a surprisingly annoyed tone, one would think robots don't have emotions, but this one definetly had at least one, which would be pissed off. The two men were sitting and staring in awe at the man-like machine that just stepped into their territory like some sort of celestial entity they had been blessed with to save them and take them back to civilization, didn't take too long for this expectation to be obliterated into nothing with a metaphorical version of a gigantic dream tracking missile.  
The robot stared at them "YOU TWO. PILES OF FLESH... HAVE ANY FUEL?" the very confused, now nicknamed piles of flesh looked at one another, did this robot need actual fuel, like car fuel? Or was it asking for food? Do robots actually need human food? Wilson then spoke "We can give you kinda stale meat, does that suffice?" the Robot's lifeless holes he had for optical sensors, or eyes, as anyone but him would call them widened "THAT'LL DO" said the robot in a slightly less but still annoyed voice, following by the machine taking a seat near them and chomping on the almost stale meat without showing disgust for the vile fuel he had been presented.

This of course made Wes and Wilson even more confused about the robot, it was eating, it was showing at least one emotion... and it was also glowing, the scientist cleared his throat and decided to speak up, once again "Ahem, this might seem like an odd first question but-" he was interrumpted "YOU MEAN SECOND. IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE ASKING THINGS TO OTHER PEOPLE AT LEAST PAY ATTENTION TO THE AMOUNT OF QUESTIONS YOU'VE DONE, EGGHEAD." replied the robot, just as annoyed as he was when he first came into their camp, Wilson let out a nervous chuckle and continued with what he meant to say "Well... odd second question then... why is it that you're glowing?", once the robot stopped munching on the vile piece of meat, he ran his arm over what could be assumed is his mouth and answered "BACK THERE IT WAS RAINING, I GOT HIT BY A LIGHTING WHICH OVERLOADED ME. MANAGED TO KEEP WALKING DURING NIGHT CYCLE." This time the robot sounded oddly calm, at least comparing it with his voice previously, maybe he was irritated by the lack of fuel? Wes nudged Wilson with his arm and pointed to both of them, insinuating they should introduce themselves.

"Oh-uh... Yeah, well Mr. Robot, this over here is Wes, a mime," Wilson paused, giving the previously mentioned mime an annoyed glance "a mere mute by choice," hearing that made Wes frown, he was limited on methods to explain he is indeed mute and can't easily go out of his way to speak, but tried not to let it bother him as Wilson was in his right to be mad, lastly Wilson introduced himself "and I'm Wilson, a scientist. Now tell us... what is your name, if you have one..." right then the robot stopped glowing "SYSTEM GONE NOMINAL. ENERGY LEVELS REGULATED." he spouted before turning to them and answering the question "I PRESENT AS WX-78. SUPERIOR BEING OVER ALL FLESHLINGS", that sentence only made Wilson and Wes stare at each other with mild concern, hopefully this entitled superior being didn't have an aggressive, territorial protocol.


	6. Domino of conflict

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One question has been answered, ending the curiosity of the cat, but was it worth it?

They looked at the metal made man, wondering what his next move was gonna be, their expectations included getting murdered by an automaton, him leaving, or everything going nice and them having a blast, whatever was going to happen it was a gamble "I'LL ALLOW MYSELF MY OWN SPACE" said the robot before turning around, grabbing a stick and drawing a kind of big square in the ground with it, then continuing with "THIS IS MY SPACE. LESSER CREATURES ARE NOT WELCOME IN IT", it only took a moment for a bird to land inside the square to reach a few seeds in the ground, WX-78's quick reflexes made him throw the stick towards the bird so quickly it actually hit it, the damage wasn't enough to kill it but the bird visibly had trouble flying away. "I WENT EASY ON THAT FEATHER-BAG. NEXT TIME WILL EQUATE TO MURDER" mentioned the robot to himself in a very sinister and a little more deep than usual voice, he wasn't threatening anyone but it felt like he was, if it wasn't because day time was starting to arrive and darkness was gone, it would have looked even creepier.

Wilson got closer to WX-78, without crossing the border made in dirt "Well, WX... If you really want to make your own separate base I say you get to it because day's not gonna last forever" he said with a smile in his face. "YOU ARE MISTAKEN. I WILL FORGIVE YOUR ERROR AS IT IS COMMON FOR YOUR KIND." WX-78 replied, leaving Wes and Wilson confused since the automaton was very protective of his future base space to be saying he doesn't have to make it, at least not now...  
"YOU TWO WILL BE IN CHARGE OF MY SECURITY UNTIL MY BASE IS PERFECTED. I WILL NOT LIVE POORLY AND IF I DO IT WILL BE YOUR FAULT." the robot snapped at them in with hints of annoyance all over his tone, it was like he just didn't care about being a burden for others as long as he came on top of everyone in acceptable conditions. At the very least, the soulless automaton had agreed to work on his own base, just at his own rythm.

After a small chat, they decided to dedicate a couple days to focus on one thing to get each morning, since winter was so close you could already feel the air getting colder. This time it was time to chop wood, all three of them took an axe and walked to the nearby forest to start, while in the middle of it WX-78 slowed down and asked with a tone of geniune curiosity that didn't fit his previous actions towards them "I WAS TOLD THE MIME WAS MUTE BY CHOICE. I UNDERSTAND FLESHLINGS ARE TERRIBLE AT MAKING DECISIONS. BUT I FEEL THE NEED TO KNOW WHY KEEP QUIET IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS." Wilson's eyebrow twitched, he was starting to get calm about the subject but WX-78 reminding him with an extra motive to be mad made him start hitting the trees with a lot more aggresion than before.

Wes, obviously scared, took a deep breath and watched Wilson quickly chop the tree down out of rage, he got closer and put his hand on the scientist's shoulder, making the man turn to him, noticeably angry, quickly pushing Wes away nearly causing him to fall, WX-78 just stared at the conflict with mixed feelings of concern and amusement, the silent man was getting tired of putting up with it, the discussion between them felt eternal and unnecessary even if it has barely been over a day since it began, it wasn't his obligation to put up with it until it died down. WX-78 was about to intervene and speak up, but was interrumpted by Wes taking off his red shirt and picking up his axe with a visible strong grip, he pulled the black long sleeve shirt's collar down, showing his neck, a faint scar in it, then putting the axe right over it and pretending to slice it open again, immediatly dropping the axe to the floor and looking at Wilson dead in the eye, forcing his voice out, faint, raspy, torn and in-between deep breaths, just like last time "I told you", before the scientist could say anything, Wes was already walking away while putting the red shirt back on.

Once dusk was setting, Wilson and Wx-78 were heading back to the camp, one of them obviously still wrapping his head about what happened in the morning, from far away they could see Wes munching on a piece of corn and feeding a few kernels to his smallbirds next to a put out fire pit, the scientist, hoping things were better by then extended his arm and waved at the mime as a friendly gesture, all he got back was an angry stare, once they were a couple steps away Wes had finished the corn and walked into the tent, the two baby birds following behind.  
The scientist and the automaton sat down, the first one with his hands over his head "What did I do wrong, WX?" he said, expecting some comfort "MY PERSPECTIVE ANALYSIS CAN ONLY ANSWER THAT YOU WERE A JERK." was the answer he got. They spent the rest of dusk harvesting whatever had grown in the farms and re-planted the seeds.  
Night was only a couple of minutes away and Wes wasn't out of the tent yet, Wilson tried to understand that Wes hasn't slept in more than a day, but neither has he, and how long has WX-78 gone restless?! I mean, does he even need sleep?

Wilson cleared his throat and turned to see WX-78, "Well, usually one of us stays up all night to watch out while the others rest, which one of us should--" the automaton stood up and walked to the tent, guess he does need some sleep despite being a machine.  
The now alone scientist started the fire and looked at it, he could probably use the alone time to think, so many things were roaming in his mind anyway, just looking back to the day before he felt terrible, making Wes put up with stupid tantrums and unnecessary violence, even though he saw himself as a collected gentleman, all he became was an overreacting jerk, and so, he started to think of a way to apologize.

Inside the tent was WX-78 laying down, looking up with his ocular sensors wide open, it's not like he didn't need sleep, but it was always difficult for him to achieve it, even more now with a second person in a closed space taking more area of the tent than they needed, he nudged Wes' back to wake him up or at least move him, this worked, the mime sat down and rubbed his eyes, "MOVE. THERE IS NOT ENOUGH SPACE FOR ME TO PROPERLY ACTIVATE SLEEP MODE" the robot looked at Wes and stopped "WHERE IS THE MIME?" he asked, noticing Wes wasn't wearing any makeup, he didn't look especially different, of course, but it was enough to temporarily confuse the automaton "WAIT. YOU ARE THERE. THE LACK OF FACE PAINT RENDERED YOU UNRECOGNIZED FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME" he stopped rambling and got in a more comfortable position before closing his ocular sensors and muttering "INITIALIZING SLEEP MODE... SLEEP MODE IN PROGRESS... SLEEP MODE ACHIEV..." and silence was back inside the tent, Wes just stared at him and moved away a couple inches before going back to sleep in a more unpleasant position, cuddling the two smallbirds he was using all the space for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank someone very special for me, because they're always reminding me to update and keeping me motivated to keep on writing this story, they know who they are <3 
> 
> I can't tell how many chapters there are left for this as I do have the ideas but I'm not sure how long it will take for me to properly write them in my chapter format, just be assured I will finish the story with high hopes of not disappointing.


	7. How can nature cause so much progress?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A conflict has been solved, but will things stay peaceful or will another problem rise?

Daylight was gently peeking through the opening of the tent, the sunray seeping through the cloth and waking up the two smallbirds on Wes' side, the mime was not ready to wake up, he wanted to stay down and cuddle with the fuzzballs a little longer, but it just wasn't going to happen, as WX-78 started beeping loudly, then screaming "INITIALIZING SYSTEM.", it took him only a moment to get up and leave the tent, since Wes barely had time to turn around only to realize he was already gone.  
Lazily crawling outside the tent, first thing Wes did was grab a carrot from his backpack and tear it in half, giving each part of the divided vegetable to the smallbirds, he started walking towards the pond, as he liked to use it as a mirror to put on the face paint that for some reason wasn't in his pockets like usual, making him stop and turn back to the camp.  
Not only was the makeup not there, Wilson wasn't anywhere to be seen either, and even though Wes was not ready to admit it, he was worried. He walked away from the camp where the giant Beehive was located, only to see a tired Wilson with a bug net, frolicking all around the grass and flailing the net around, as soon as he spotted Wes he ran to him and covered his eyes "You're not supposed to see! Head back now!" Of course, this confused the mime who pointed to his face, Wilson's hands still covering his eyes. "I'll help you with that later, right now head back and..." he paused, sweat starting to roll down his forehead, "I don't know, go give WX some company, I'll be there in no time", the scientist then turned the mime to face the other way and gave him a gentle push, Wes proceeded to go back to the camp, starting to wonder if Wilson had gone insane already.

It took only a couple seconds of being close enough to the camp for WX-78 to throw an axe to Wes, who failed to catch it and ended up with an axe right between his feet "YOUR DRAMA MADE YOU UNDERPERFORM WHILE WOOD CHOPPING. MAKE UP FOR IT NOW. YOU FLESHBAG.", the mime bent down and picked the axe up, then he began walking to the forest while looking back at the robot.

Wes spent a while chopping trees, hoping the petty automaton had at least gone mining, as he complained of Wes 'under-performing' the day before, he swung the axe towards the tree and immediately got jumped over, falling to the ground and leaving the axe stuck in the tree trunk. Whatever it was it quickly got off the mime and lifted him up, it was Wilson holding a mysterious bag made out of pig skin, Wes just stared at the bag for a moment and then turned to Wilson, giving him a confused glance as he shaked the dirt off his clothes.  
"Okay, now, close your eyes!" said Wilson with a grin on his face, which the silent man was not too sure about trusting, but he did as he was told and closed his eyes, preparing himself mentally for any sketchy outcome, he felt Wilson's palms caressing his face, followed by gently going over his cheeks, but then felt something pressing on his lips, it was a familiar sensation and an easy to recognize scent, before he could open his eyes, he heard a faint rustling sound before he felt a very slight change in weight over his head, "Alright, you can open your eyes now" said Wilson looking at Wes with anticipation as he opened his eyes, he first touched his head, it was a colorful garland, simple but a very nice gesture indeed, as Wes was starting to miss having one, the mime shyly smiled and pointed to his face, Wilson replied "Oh, you have to see it for yourself, head over to the pond!" he pointed to a pond near them, next to a few sticks and bushes.  
Wes took the handle of the axe still stuck into the tree trunk and pulled, taking it back and holding it tight before they heard a deep grunt somewhat close to them, as they looked up they saw a big Treeguard towering over the trees and worse, over them.

Like it was muscle memory, the first thing Wes did was quickly try to hit the monster with the axe, only being able to hit it three times before it swung his leafy arm and hit the silent man, pushing him and making him roll in the dirt, the giant tree was heading towards Wilson, who was vulnerable as he didn't have a weapon with him, Wes quickly stood up and ran towards the Treeguard, hitting the monster's lower leg with the axe as hard as he could, leaving it stuck, before the giant tree had the chance to hit them both, Wes took Wilson's arm tight and they both ran back to the camp.  
While running Wilson looked back and saw the Treeguard constantly stopping, was the hit so strong it hindered it's walking? There was no time to think about it as they ran back to WX-78, who thankfully was in the camp stuffing rocks in one of the chests, Wes let go of Wilson and looked at him rather scared, silently panting, "Ah, WX! There's a giant tree heading here, we need weapons!" splurted Wilson in between breaths, the automaton sighed and began making three spears for each one of them, the Treeguard was approaching them and WX tossed two spears towards Wes and Wilson while he kept doing his own.   
The mime and scientist got in position, holding their weapon tightly as the giant monster got closer and closer, Wes glanced at Wilson, unsure if he wanted to involve him in battle, no matter how ready to fight he looked, Wes pushed Wilson behind him and ran to hit the Treeguard, succesfully doing so before noticing Wilson was running towards him and stabbed the giant, leaving the spear stuck, this is exactly what Wes wanted to prevent, weirdly enough, it had worked. The treeguard was tumbling down and Wes was confused and very surprised. Wilson grabbed his gloved hand and dragged him off under the tree to avoid guetting trapped under it.

Wes stared at the now dead Treeguard, they're supposed to be more resistant, especially when they're as big as this one, some questions wandered his mind, was the Treeguard not awoken by them, then? Had it been previously damaged by something or someone before? What or who could have angered the tree if it wasn't them? while thinking, one of his hands was starting to feel warmer, he looked to his side and noticed Wilson was still holding his hand, wether he was also too focused on the Treeguard to realize or if this was intentional was beyond him, but he moved his fingers to indirectly get Wilson's attention, who quickly let go of the hand and apologized.

A little blonde girl rushed towards the dead Treeguard, holding a hovering red flower in her hands, "Are you okay?" she said in a sweet but monotone voice, the leaves in the tree started to rustle and some sort of anthropomorphic spider jumped out of them, holding a crow in it's claws "Very!" it said, with a voice that sounds like two people are talking at the same time, a boy and an ocasionally gagging monster, "And there's a spiky stick here so we can kill the bird faster!" it finished with a smile. Wes, Wilson and WX-78 looked at them, confused and conflicted, they found two possible friendly people, which is nice, they just don't know if the way they showed up gave them a good first impression.  
Before anyone could say anything, the spider child put the crow down, expanding it's wings and forcing it down while the girl put down the flower, which was still hovering above the ground, next to the bird, she took the spear and murdered the crow in one swift stab, the flower then began to glow and it shape shifted into a ghost with a flower-like bow. Wilson cleared his throat, "H-hey she's got a pretty bow!", of course, he caught the attention of the girl and the spider child "Oh, there you are" said the girl with such non-existant excitement, "Yeah! It's the robo-guy!" shouted the spider kid, pointing at WX-78, the automaton showed genuine confusion in his metal face, walking towards them and taking the spear away from the little girl, "I DO NOT RECOGNIZE EITHER OF YOU. ARE YOU INFERIOR BEINGS TRYING TO MESS WITH MY CIRCUITS?" It was odd hearing WX-78 talk with real confusion or seriousness, as most of the time he sounded annoyed, tired or sarcastic, "Oh no, Mr. Robo-guy, but we've seen you before!", shouted the spider child, "To be more specific, we saw something odd and shiny, then we discovered it was you glowing and running somewhere" said the girl, "And we tried to follow you but we got lost! Then abigail had to go back to her flower and we had to bring her back by killing something! We ended up waking up the tree meanie, though..." continued the spider kid. Wilson stepped in, "Alright, alright. Thanks for filling us in this encounter story but can we please have your names?" he said with his arms crossed, the girl spoke first "My name is Wendy, and this is my sister, Abigail", then the other child got closer to the scientist "And my name's Webber, nice to meet you, mister!!" shouted Webber, who seems to be in an eternal sugar-filled mood as he rapidly shook Wilson's hand.

"Ahem," The scientist cleared his throat, "I'm Wilson, said 'Robo-guy' is called WX-78 and last but not least we have Wes" he finished introducing everyone and took a couple steps back, "WX, would you mind introducing them to our camp and show them th-" "We already know how it works, but thanks for letting us temporarily burden you, I suppose" interrupted Wendy, "It's only temporary cause we gotta find Ms. Wickerbottom!" continued Webber, Wes' eyes widened and he got closer to the kids, then pointed to himself with both hands "Oh oh oh!! The mime!" screamed Webber, hopping cheerfully, "Ms. Wickerbottom talked to us about a mime, but we had assumed you had died already" softly said Wendy, Wilson glanced at Wes and out of what seemed reflex he held the mime's hand "Who is this Miss? And how come she knows Wes?" Wes looked down to see their hands together and though he wasn't sure he was okay with it, for now he would let it slide, it was still an odd reaction from Wilson.

"All we were told is he wandered off a day before a full moon..." mentioned Webber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of this fic is kind of near, if I dare say so. I'm conflicted between the ending I will choose, so I won't say a specific number of chapters this will have before it's finale.
> 
> I also want to add that other than Wickerbottom I do not plan to make more additions to the "survivor cast" in this fic, whether or not the other survivors get included as an after-story thing will depend a *lot* on the ending I choose after I make up my mind.
> 
> Still, thanks a lot for reading and I hope I'm not disappointing!


	8. What it is to feel like a loading screen.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are blooming, feelings are being considered and everyone starts progressing.

The survivors were sitting down, leaning their back on big strong logs they managed to push down, the put out fire pit in front of them, Wilson kept scratching his chin as the rapidly growing beard began to get itchier and itchier, similarly to Webber who went over his fluffy, hairy chin and head with the spider legs to comfort the feeling of a starting silk beard.  
Wilson stopped and gave Wes a discreet sideglance, the mime was using petals to clean and re-apply some parts of his makeup, using some polished, put together moon stone as mirror, the scientist thought he'd done a good job himself, but then again he wasn't experienced enough to apply any sort of cosmetics in any sort of person, so he doesn't blame Wes for wanting to properly fix whatever he messed up. He kept staring, seeing how the silent man turned around without taking his eyes off the improvised mirror, after only a couple of seconds Wes smiled at the mirror and put it down, Wilson's glance was unsure if it was safe to keep looking, so he shifted his glance to the other side, only to quickly come back and stare at Wes' gloved hand, it had been a while since he ever willingly and unnecesarily attempted physical contact for the sake of being somewhat closer to that other individual, so why did he even consider it? Two kids mention some lady and the first thing he does is hold Wes' hand, why even bother? He just hopes no one noticed, they can't go getting false ideas about them.

There had to be a rational explanation for this behavior, something logical that he could back up with any kind of evidence, but how would he come to posses something like that? What even is he trying to prove? There is nothing to prove, nothing weird happening at all, he has come to be just the same he was since he met Wes, true, maybe trust has escalated, but that's it, and it's only natural, right? It has to be, just mere overthinking.

The sound of sudden rising fire from the fire pit snapped him out of it, his gaze now focused on the dancing flames, Wilson stretched and saw it was still dusk, but could tell night was not that far, Wendy and Webber were already closing their eyes in hopes to be asleep before night even begins, WX-78 comes closer to him and, surprisignly, in a quiet voice says "I will be conducting the vigilance protocol. You and Wes head to the tent to sleep. Tomorrow it will be Wes turn." it was the first time the automaton didn't sound like he was shoving his voice down your ears, Wilson nodded and headed to the tent right away to finally rest. Wes stayed next to the robot, planning to do so until night was indeed under them.  
Once Webber and Wendy started snoring, WX-78 came back to his usual voice level, though still set to not disturb the sleeping children "WES. BY CALCULATIONS WINTER IS ONLY TWO WHOLE TIME UNITS AWAY. I PLEAD YOU DO NOT LEAVE CAMP AND FOCUS ON KEEPING THIS PLACE WITH PROPER CARE." Wes raised an eyebrow, what was WX-78 insinuating? That he couldn't be of much help getting resources? "I CAN NOT PROCESS THOUGHTS AND SOLUTIONS THE SAME WAY YOU FLESHLINGS DO. BUT WE SHOULD PROHIBIT THE MERE CONCEPT OF RISKING YOUR BEING." Wait a moment, was this seemingly petty, arrogant and usually pessimist robot acting in concern about his well being? Who would've thought, maybe there is something he's found in everyone, making him able to recognize the value of each camper?

It seems so, but it could always be looking too much into it.

Wes smiled at WX-78, placing his hand on the automaton's shoulder and giving it a pat, then taking off one of the flowers in the garland Wilson had made and giving it to him, then standing up and crawling into the tent as dark covered the sky. The automaton looked at it, concerned, was his system being nonfunctional? He couldn't be caring about these people, now. He had priorities.  
He stood up and walked towards the science machine, taking some wool from everyone's chest and making a blanket, then covering Webber and Wendy with it, seeing them get comfortable under the warm, soft touch of the wool made him jolt, it was not common to him to feel these things, concern, worry, caring for other people it was not his usual self, but perhaps he needed an update.  
Glancing at his own chest, the chest he made in his so called future, personal base, he stared at it, deeply, contemplating and calculating what he was doing, about to turn back to sit on the log, he glanced at the flower in his hands, and so he made a decision...

He stepped over the line- And made it disappear with a few brushes against the rest of the dirt, took the chest and placed it next to the others, before returning to his position, sitting over the log, carefully holding that flower with both hands.

Inside the tent were Wilson and Wes, the first one laying on his back, looking up and trying to sleep, the other laying on his side, staring at the scientist with a dreamy expression, of course, Wilson noticed, but didn't want to comentate on it, all he wanted was to stop feeling his face getting warmer, even if he could blame it on the beard, which was long enough to raise the temperature at this point. Wilson shyly looked at Wes, trying to not seem obvious and completely failing "Is there uh... Need something, Wes?" he said, softly and trying his best to avoid any stuttering or voice cracks.  
Wes looked down for a moment, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before reaching for one of Wilson's hands and holding it tight, the mime slowly opened one eye, staring at Wilson with genuine wonder and expectation, and though the scientist found it hard to grasp right away, he slowly moved their held hands and kissed Wes' palm as if he was a gentleman greeting a gracious lady, then giving him a nervous smile.

Usually Wes was collected enough to express himself without words, but right now even his mind was blank, his body was stiff, eyes wide open and his face burning, all he could gather to do was quickly kiss Wilson's cheek before turning away and pretending to sleep.  
It was pretty much at that point that Wilson realized that whatever he was trying to prove wrong, was indeed right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to give WX some love here, I want every character to be somewhat important and for that I might shift focus to them to show the progress they've gone through. Plus I guess we got our Wesson now? Time to keep it fluffy until the end.


	9. Trick into work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A more relaxed approach to their situation, caused by an automaton who refuses to feel compassion for others.

The cracking of the logs under the profound fire was the only comforting sound WX-78 could process, as silence pretty much drowned the world around him, he focused his sight on the two kids, who had started moving and waking up only moments before light dragged the night away, Webber cheerfully got up with a jump as he rubbed his eyes, Wendy on the other hand, sat up in a soft motion, a dull expression without blinking in the process, like a carcass coming to life right out of a horror film, "Ah... Who did a blanket?" quietly said the girl dragging her pale hands over the soft wool, the spider child jumped right over and rolled in it, briefly rolling over Wendy's legs without consequence as apparently she barely even felt it, "I'm a spider roll!" he laughed, swinging his little feet as much as he could in the tight blanket roll he got himself into, "Mister robo-guy! Do you happen to know where this blanket came from?!" asked Webber, trying to get out of the wool prison, WX-78 could feel a slight, yet irrational heat in the gears that worked as audio perceiving additions at the sides of his head, he couldn't admit he was worried they would be cold at night, he couldn't admit the simple concept of caring for their general well-being, that just wasn't his thing, but he managed to reply, in his usual tone "IT WAS THE WILSON HUMAN."

Inside the tent Wes was just waking up, an odd sensation of itchiness near his neck and back, he slowly opened his eyes and gently turned around only to see Wilson right in front of him, inches apart, the scientist's beard was the cause of the previous discomfort, he noticed the sunlight from outside the tent and wanted to crawl out to get working, but something held him from leaving the tent, once again, it was Wilson, who held his hand and looked up to him with tired eyes "Can't we just... stay asleep for a bit?", Wes' reaction was to roll his eyes and crawl out of the tent, tripping on his last step as a certain someone wanted to pull him back in.  
Once out of there, the mime stretched and looked around, quickly noticing the blanket laid gently on the floor where Wendy and Webber were previously sleeping, he glanced at WX-78 who was cooking something in a crock pot, once he got the robot's attention, he pointed at the blanket and gave him a sly smile, the automaton quickly looked away and shouted "WHAT? IT WAS WILSON. STOP STARING AT ME.", Wes just smiled and looked the other way, also realizing WX-78 had moved his chest and erased the line that was once meant to separate their bases when he first arrived.

Wes made a small bag with some grass, then filled it with seeds and a few berries, he left it on the floor for a moment and crawled back in the tent, a still seemingly tired Wilson welcoming him "Hey, you're ba- Wait where are you going?" the mime grabbed his two smallbirds and left the tent as quickly as he had returned, he grabbed the improvised grass bag and started to walk into the forest, the others looking at him full of pure confusion and mild concern about following him or not, once he was far away he put down the little birds and pet their heads, right before putting the little bag down and opening it, allowing them to eat while the mime walked away, waving goodbye in their direction.

Meanwhile in the camp, WX-78 had finished cooking some meatballs, giving them to Wendy and Webber "CONSUME IT." was all the robot said in the most condescending tone before turning back and taking a razor out of one of the chests laying near the tent, not wanting to let the kids see him be nice out of legitimate kindness, that would be crucially damaging for his image. While thinking, something distracted the automaton, a voice, more specifically, "I don't want to go out there... Where's Wes..." was all he could manage to hear since Wilson was muttering to himself. It had been a while since WX-78 has had some fun annoying others, maybe being annoying was exactly what he needed to stop acting like he cared for everyone he'd met there.

The mime had just arrived to camp, and WX-78 was quick to walk towards him and drag him just a couple of steps away from the camp, quietly explaining something. Wendy and Webber watched from the distance while eating, the girl was clean and slow, giving small bites to the meatball while staring blankly at it, the spider child on the other hand, was swinging his feet in the air while rapidly munching the food away, then rubbing his tummy and licking his fangs.

Wes nodded and both the mime and the automaton walked into the forest.

Shortly after, Wes and WX-78 were back, but looking rather different, Webber and Wendy stared in confussion as the other two got close to the tent, standing in front of the entrance, WX-78 bent down, only visible from the shoulders and below to Wilson inside the tent and refusing to come out, the automaton waved his hand towards the scientist from outside, who saw it as if Wes was the one gesturing towards him, due to the clothing WX-78 had exchanged with the mime. Wilson reached out and held WX-78's gloved hand tightly, much to the confusion of the automaton as he felt the other trying to pull him in, the robot and Wes looked at each other and out of reflex, Wes showed WX-78 what to do with his own gestures, the hand of the robot managed to get away from Wilson's grasp and gently held the scientist's cheek, slowly making Wilson move closer to the entrance of the tent as if it was trying to seduce him. While he was starting to get out the tent, Wilson's eyes widened as he found WX-78 wearing Wes' clothing, before he could react and move away from the hand he thought was Wes' but resulted being the automaton's in disguise, he had been grabbed by the shoulders "GET WORKING YOU AIR WASTING FLESHLING." yelled WX-78 before making the scientist stand up and pushed him out the tent.

Wilson stood up in complete confusion, seeing Webber laughing like crazy and Wendy giggling, at the same time WX-78 was taking off Wes' clothing and handing it to the mime, which to the scientist's surprise was wearing underwear that could probably pass off as normal clothing, muted brown shorts that, though short on the legs, were still waist high, and a beige undershirt tucked in, "DON'T JUST STAND THERE. BURN SOME TREES AND GET CHARCOAL." snarked the robot "Oh, shut up! You could have done it, Wes could have done it, why take me out for a mindless task!?" replied Wilson, very annoyed, not only because he was forced out of the tent, but because of the way they decided to trick him into it, the automaton sighed loudly "I WON'T BE HERE FOR TONIGHT. I'LL BE GETTING WOOL FOR WINTER GEAR. TOMORROW MORNING WEBBER WILL BE GETTING SILK AND WENDY WILL BE MAKING TRAPS FOR FOOD." Wilson raised a hand, "WES IS GOING TO BE ON VIGILANCE PROTOCOL FOR TWO NIGHTS STRAIGHT, BECAUSE HE'S THE MOST WELL RESTED. RIGHT NOW HE'S OFF TO BATHE. WHILE HE'S GONE. GET CHARCOAL." finished WX-78 expecting to have covered whatever Wilson was intending to ask, without complaints, the scientist made a torch and walked towards the forest.


	10. Light in dark locations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter is only a night away.

Walking into the forest, Wilson realized getting charcoal was more difficult than it seemed at first, at least considering the direction he was told to take, trees are abundant, and by extension, charcoal should be too! But the objective isn't to burn an entire forest, not only is it a waste of wood, it's also an overflow in a mildly useful resource. With three torches ready to be lit either to burn a tree or if night comes before he's in the camp, Wilson continued to walk into the dense forest.

After burning a few trees and chopping them down to pick up the charcoal, he was ready to walk back towards the camp, that is if he hadn't spotted one last tree, in a perfect position where if burned it would not expand or cause any major issues, despite having enough, a little extra could never hurt, so he slowly stepped closer to the tree and with the torch, he set fire to it. Wilson stared at the flames, growing stronger as they covered the pine in black and smoke.  
Water started splashing from behind the tree, the blackened leaves had started falling off, allowing Wilson to see something, or better put, someone, moving really quickly and making water rise to the point of almost putting out the fire, fortunately, the tree kept burning. Unfortunately, once the tree was done burning and Wilson was about to chop it down, he managed to see Wes coughing water onto the grass, wearing only his now half soaked, waist high, black pants, holding tightly onto a completely wet shirt.  
Wilson immediatly dropped his axe and rushed towards Wes, if the scientist had known he wouldn't have done that, scared Wes out of his mind while he tried to take a simple bath. He helped the mime get up and they both walked towards the camp, in the way Wes was starting to dry off.

Once back, barely on time before night arrived and darkness covered the sky, they were greeted by WX-78 glancing at them with a troubled expression, it seemed mildly understandable, Wilson was holding Wes' still humid shirt on one hand, and a put out torch in the other, while Wes stood besides him, no make up and hair even messier than usual, only wearing those high waist pants and black shoes, both leaving a small and faint puddle of water under him.  
The automaton looked at them for a couple of -very awkard- seconds as if waiting for an explanation, but when he saw he wasn't getting one, he sighed and told Wilson to head to the tent, this time Wes was staying up to keep an eye on the camp and the two children.  
WX-78 packed things for a camp fire, a torch and a razor, then walked away to get wool from the sleeping Beefalo.

Once the automaton was gone, Wes sat down close to the fire and let himself dry off. Wilson handed him his shirt and stood right besides the mime, glancing down at him. A couple of seconds later, Wes noticed and pointed towards the tent, "Oh, I got that covered..." the scientist said as he walked towards Wendy and Webber, who were preparing for the morning, he said something really quietly. Before Wes even noticed, the kids were walking into the tent, he stared in confussion at Wilson, he was slowly walking towards the mime and took a seat by his side "They'll take the tent for tonight" mentioned the scientist without making eye contact with Wes.  
The temperature kept going lower and lower, Winter was practically there already and Wes put on his shirt, tucking it into his pants, while Wilson mantained the fire going, a bit stronger than usual, since cold was starting to become more and more difficult to stay away from, the scientist moved closer to Wes, continuing until it looked like they were glued together, the mime was very aware of it and didn't mind at all, it was somewhat relieving even. Still, something made Wes uneasy, something he couldn't quite put his finger on, a constant sensation of discomfort that he couldn't shake off, so far his solution was to pile other, more positive, emotions over it, although probably unhealthy, it worked.  
He felt something scratchy near his neck, immediatly realizing it was Wilson's nose and by extension his beard, somehow the scientist had quickly fallen asleep while leaning onto Wes, wether this was intentional or not wasn't part of the mime's focus at the moment, he was trying to think of more important issues, trying to think how far Wickerbottom was if both Webber and Wendy came across them so casually, neither of them had mentioned getting lost, so they probably know the way back to her.

He felt Wilson's lips gently brushing his neck, a chill went down his spine before moving away, causing the scientist to fall on the snow. Wes helped him get up and sit back down close to him, about ready to pantomime questions about what he tried to achieve there, for the mime's surprise, Wilson was still heavily asleep.  
A silent sigh slipped through the mime's lips, when he's so deep in his train of thought everything else feels like an upcoming hazard ready to murder, sometimes thinking doesn't feel like the best thing to do when you're supposed to pay attention to the fire, but there were so many things to get a conversation with himself going, and so he got to them.

On a different place, WX-78 was putting some grass to the campfire, carefully shaving the sleeping beefalos around him, impatient to get back to everyone else and be warm just in time for winter's beginning, only a couple hours away. With all beefalo shaved, he put some of the fur on the grass and allowed himself to it, a very well needed recharge.  
He silently shut himself down without caring too much about the fire getting low with the strong wind, about to go out, the flame was replaced by a pillar, a pillar that gave light with a gray toned light on it's top.  
The sound of sharp footsteps on the grass and a small cloud of smoke approaching slowly, from the cause of this comes a voice "We can't have you be her next victim, can we, pal?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who forgot they had to update a fic? That's right, your buddy here! Alright I got it though, updated!  
> Small update though...


	11. Worries and a temporary choice.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wes finds himself thinking a lot more than usual, with difficult choices the least he could do is make the actions temporary.

The tall figure stepped closer to the recharging automaton, kneeling in front of it, the man blew smoke on the face of the machine expecting a reaction, but none was given. He realized the automaton wasn't powered on and stood back up "You've got quite some bravery to think to shut down is safe in my realm, let this be a warning", said the tall man, leaving a burn of his cigarette leave a small stain on the robot, then having shadow hands lift WX-78 and everything he was carrying and had collected, when the man began walking away from the pillar, it didn't disappear, but the flame did.  
At the set up camp, Wes sat awake, talking to himself in the only way he could, in his conscience. Sometimes his thought process was stopped by the fire going low, and the cold setting in, sometimes he couldn't help looking at Wilson sleeping beside him, his calm expression was distracting, relaxed, peaceful, with no worries or troubles, it made him want to join into a temporary comfort where his mind would go onto a more enjoyable state, the thought of calm and peace with Wilson made a shy smile make its way onto him, a warmth in his chest the fire wasn't responsible for. He reached for the scientist's hand, and gently grabbed it, looking at his hand slowly intertwining fingers with Wilson's.  
Until he snapped out of it.  
He let go of the scientist's hand, and shook his head rapidly, realizing what was going in his mind, and how it was distracting him from his current worries, he decided to carry Wilson to the tent, without cramping him too much with Wendy and Webber.  
Once he was done with the task, chills traveled down his spine, he rushed to the fire to fuel the flames more, hoping it was only the sudden cold toying with his senses, but he was wrong, as footsteps could be heard, he saw the tall figure approaching him, "Maxwell..." he mouthed, but no audible mention of his name had come out. The shadow puppeteer walked closer and closer, a smug expression on his face "I think you might appreciate this," said the man, dropping WX-78 and all he had collected onto the floor, Wes looked down to him, hesitating to go for the automaton right away, Maxwell spoke once again- "You do not want Charlie's visits, this is my last warning to you three, live miserably, or die miserably- Nowhere but in my own world and under my own rules" He had vanished in the shadows quickly after his last words, leaving the mime with even stronger fears and worries of their fate, what was Maxwell planning to do? Wes let WX-78 rest close to the fire, still turned off, and he sat down next to him, thinking, wondering.

The morning was coming by, Wes kept staring at the fire intensely, still contemplating so many choices, but by now, he felt like he had made a decision. A cold gust of wind brushed his neck, and made him tremble, he sensed a presence, he heard it clearly. Standing up, the mime rebooted the recharging robot, making it's first sentient moments of the day the feel of a spear on his hands before WX-78 could ask any questions, Wes shut him up by placing his finger on his mouth. In the distance, loud barking and growling.  
Wes and WX-78 tightly held their spears, ready to take on the upcoming hound attack. The loud barks and howls got louder and louder, and they were making sure the tent remained unharmed by the beasts, the trees and leaves were shaking aggressively, until the hounds jumped out, running towards them with foam and drool escaping their disgusting snouts, unpredictable biting that with the proper evasion quickly became a pattern, Wes aimed at their throat, trying to quickly pierce through the monsters when they jumped at him, while WX-78 tried to stab their eyes and nose, to leave the hounds completely disorientated, making them easy to inhumanly murder and attack for as long as his metallic, cold, unfeeling heart desired. Until a white hound ran towards him, the automaton wasn't caught off guard, in fact, he killed the hound in one lethal pierce through the throat, but he remained in place, the usual rusty orange of his body had gathered a light blue hue. He had been mildly frozen by the odd albino beast.  
Wes carefully handled WX-78, and put it next to the campfire, which he proceeded to fuel to its full capacity, he then grabbed some of the furs the robot had collected and made a vest and a warm winter hat to put on the frozen still automaton. The mime sat next to him and thought that maybe his plan could wait a bit longer.   
Shortly after, Webber and Wendy had woken up, waking up Wilson when they crawled over him to get out the tent. All three had come out to see a shivering WX-78 wearing winter gear, and the mime sitting next to him putting a thermal stone to his head. Webber decided to add to the help and gave the automaton more cover by wrapping him with the blanket.  
Wilson and Wes started making more winter gear for everyone, to ensure they'd all be safe for the cold season, Wilson could sense something wasn't right, even if the mime was always quiet, he wasn't one to be this serious, or to show so much worry on his face, but there was no real way to know what was going on, so he'd have to investigate the silent man's behavior for longer. While working on making the gear, they could overhear the kids talking, for the interest of one of them, Wes did his best to understand everything they said the moment they mentioned Ms. Wickerbottom.  
"Oh yeah, we'll have to go for miss grandmom eventually, she could follow the path we did, it's just a straight line of tree stumps after all!" mentioned Webber, clearly missing the company of Ms. Wickerbottom, to the point of considering her a family member like a grandmother, Wendy sighed and replied "Abigail memorized the way, I can summon her so she'd alert her for us, it'd be a waste of our lacking energy to go over there just to tell her to come here.", Webber nodded, and they agreed to send Abigail the next day when Winter would begin.  
Things were going differently in Wes' mind, however.  
Through the entire day, he carefully snuck food, tools, and resources into a backpack he had hidden from the rest, trying to go unnoticed until nighttime came by, with WX-78 unfrozen, but still rather cold, Wes offered himself to stay up to keep an eye with him, and on him during the night, while Wilson, Webber and Wendy head into the tent.  
Wes gently inched his way closer to WX-78, who wasn't even paying attention to him, and before he could react, the automaton had been forcefully rebooted by the mime. With limited time, the silent man grabbed the backpack, put on his winter gear, grabbed a lit torch and walked towards the path of tree stumps, towards the choice he had made that last night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOLLY GUESS WHAT?!  
> I almost forgot this existed, whoops. I have so much work on my hands currently, but I've managed to squeeze this chapter as soon as I remembered this fic. I'll try to keep it going. Thanks so much to anyone who's still reading or will be reading this!  
> Every comment has been so nice and heartwarming, so thank you all!


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